There were shocks aplenty on FA Cup 4th Round weekend,
as Liverpool, Brighton, Newcastle, Leeds, Hull and Watford were all eliminated
by lower league teams. Lincoln City and Sutton Utd made history by being the
first non-league teams to make it to the 5th round, and both sides
were rewarded with ties against Premier League opposition (Burnley and
Arsenal). The team selection of some of the bigger teams has drawn a lot of
criticism; Liverpool have been accused of playing too many kids, whereas the
likes of Newcastle, Brighton and Leeds have been condemned for making too many
changes to their regular starting XI. Some are suggesting that the bigger teams
don’t take the competition seriously, thus lowering the prestige of the FA Cup.
Personally, I don’t think that’s fair.
The uproar about team selection is reminiscent of the Mick
McCarthy incident in 2010. McCarthy made ten changes to his Wolves team that
went on to lose 3-0 to Man United at Old Trafford. He was resting his starting
XI for a relegation six pointer at Burnley the following weekend, which they
went on to win 2-0 – vindicating his decision. The FA fined him £25k for making
so many changes, to much public backlash. How is this any different? It’s a manager’s
prerogative to pick whatever team he sees fit, so who are we to say which of
his players are better than the others? No manager picks a team to
intentionally lose a game. He has a squad of 25+ players so why shouldn’t some
of them get a run out in a cup competition? The FA cup isn’t a priority for a
manager, and nor should it be. It would be wrong for a coach to prioritise a
potential 6 game cup run over a 38/46 game season. No matter how much fans want
a day out at Wembley, a Premier League team playing a rotated side in the
league in preparation for an FA Cup game would be ludicrous.
There’s a constant clamour in English football for academy
players to be given a chance, yet Liverpool were criticised for fielding too
many young players when they lost to Wolves. So its ok to give young players a
chance, just not in the FA Cup? Klopp selected the likes of Ben Woodburn because
he believes they’re good enough to be in the first team. The FA Cup is as good
a chance as any to blood some young talent – how will Klopp know if these
players are ready for the Premier League if he can’t play them at home to a
championship side? If Liverpool had won, no doubt these youngsters who shouldn’t
have played would have been showered with praise for their performance.
Is the FA Cup devalued by the big guns rotating their teams?
Ask the Sutton Utd players if they’re upset that Leeds fielded a weakened team.
Ask Lincoln fans if they don’t think their team should be in the 5th
round because Brighton rested some key players. Try telling Axel Tuanzebe and
Joel Pereira that the FA Cup shouldn’t hold a special place in their heart
after they made their professional debuts for the biggest club in the world in
the competition. Even ask Liverpool fans if they’re annoyed that they’ve been
knocked out – I can tell you right now that the answer is yes. If the bigger
teams want to play weakened teams that’s up to them. However they know the risk
is huge, and therein lies the value of the FA Cup. It is still a competition
that everybody wants to win. It has infinitely more prestige than the League
Cup ever will. If a team wins the Premier League and League Cup, they’ve won a
double – but they haven’t won THE double. Louis Van Gaal refers to it as the ‘title’
he won in England. Foreign players talk about watching FA cup games before they
came to England. The FA Cup has worldwide appeal - it is the single most famous
domestic cup competition in football. The FA Cup still has its magic, and so
long as fans keep turning up to watch the games that will never change.
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